Multifunction hand shower

ABSTRACT

A multifunction hand shower can be used in at least two modes of operation: in the first of these modes of operation, the shower jets emerge from the shower base (3) in a constant stream at relatively high speed and with a small cross-section (&#34;hard jet mode&#34;) and in the second mode of operation they emerge at high speed and with a relatively small cross-section, but are intermittently interrupted (&#34;pulse jet mode&#34;). The periodic interruption of the &#34;pulse jets&#34; is ensured by a pulse wheel (23) which is housed in a circular chamber (20) in the housing (1) in such a way that it can rotate. In the &#34;hard jet mode&#34;, the rotation of the pulse wheel (23) is interrupted, by a stop (45), in a quite specific angular position which allows the hard jets to emerge from the shower base (3) in a constant stream. To change over to &#34;pulse jet mode&#34;, the stop (45) is moved out of the path of movement of a stop (28) which is connected to the pulse wheel (23) such that the pulse wheel (23) is now able to rotate freely. The paths taken by the water inside the housing (1) and especially the water outlet openings (4) through which the water flows are the same in the &#34;hard jet mode&#34; and the &#34;pulse jet mode&#34;.

The invention concerns a multifunction hand shower with a choice of atleast two modes of operation in which the shower jets emerge with arelatively small cross-section and a relatively high speed, namely in

a) a first mode of operation in which the shower jets emerge in acontinuous stream ("hard jet mode")

and

b) a second mode of operation in which the shower jets are periodicallyinterrupted ("pulse jet mode")

comprising

c) a housing;

d) a shower base which seals the housing and which has a number of wateroutlet openings;

e) a pulse wheel pivot mounted in a circular chamber in the housingthrough which water flows, and which as it rotates periodicallyinterrupts and then frees the through-flow of water to the appropriatewater outlet openings in the shower base;

f) a change-over mechanism to select the mode of operation whichconsists of

fa) a manual actuator;

fb) at least one change-over device which is controlled by the manualactuator and which can be moved into at least two different positions,hereby determining the mode of operation of the shower.

In the known multifunction hand showers of this type, in the "hard jet"and "pulse jet" modes water takes different paths as it flows throughthe housing and also flows through different water outlet holes in theshower base. In one of these paths there is a circular chamber in whichthe pulse wheel runs. The change-over from one mode of operation to theother occurs by means of a valve component which directs the flow ofwater to either one of the two water channels appropriate to thecorresponding mode of operation. The disadvantage with this arrangementis that the internal assembly of the housing is relatively complicateddue to the different water channels required, that in addition the waterchannels are relatively narrow and, more especially, that the wateroutlet openings in the shower base are different for "hard jet mode" and"pulse jet mode". The consequence of this is that only comparatively fewwater outlet openings are available for both the "hard jet mode" andalso the "pulse jet mode". This assumes particular significance when, inaddition to the two modes of operation of the multifunction hand showerdescribed, there is potential for a third mode of operation ("soft jetmode"). There is also the fact that in the known types of shower the jetpattern is different in the "hard jet mode" than it is in the "pulse jetmode".

The task of this invention is to design a multifunction hand shower ofthe type described at the beginning so that its internal assembly issimplified, the internal water channels have a large-area cross-sectionof flow, there is as high a number of water outlet openings in theshower base available for "hard jet mode" and "pulse jet mode" aspossible and there is an adequate jet pattern over a wide area of theshower base.

This problem is solved according to the invention in that

g) the change-over device acts upon a stop which, in the first positionof the change-over device lies outside the path of movement of a stopmounted on the pulse wheel and in the second position of the change-overdevice lies in the path of movement of the stop on the pulse wheel suchthat the pulse wheel remains in a specific position of rotation.

In a multifunction hand shower according to the invention the previouslyadopted course is therefore abandoned whereby each mode of operation hasits own water channel and its own set of outlet holes in the showerbase. Instead, in those modes of operation in which jets of water areproduced which have a relatively high speed and small cross-section (andthis applies not only to "hard jet mode" but also to "pulse jet mode")the water is directed via the same water channel and via the same wateroutlet holes. According to the invention, the respective mode ofoperation is selected by either stopping the pulse wheel which is pivotmounted in a circular chamber inside the water channel ("hard jet mode")or leaving it to rotate freely ("pulse jet mode"). This can be broughtabout with the aid of a stop which is very simply moved into the path ofmotion of a stop mounted on the pulse wheel.

In one embodiment of the invention, the change-over device extends tothe outside of the housing in a radial direction relative to the showerbase. In this embodiment, the manual actuator is on a lateral face ofthe bell-shaped extension to the housing of the hand shower or even onto a peripheral surface of the shower base.

Alternatively, it is possible for the change-over device to be movedfrom the shower base in an axial direction. In this embodiment, acorresponding change-over device, which is simply adjusted axiallybetween two positions, is then located on the front face of the showerbase.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is one in which thechange-over device is part of a change-over mechanism, with which athird mode of operation can also be set in which air-enriched showerjets emerge from the shower base with a relatively large cross-sectionand at a comparatively slow speed ("soft jet mode"). In the embodimentdescribed, the change-over mechanism can combine all three modes ofoperation and can be operated as necessary by a single manual actuator.

In this connection, a particularly good embodiment of the invention isone in which the change-over mechanism consists of:

fc) a slide which is contained in the housing and which can be movedeither translationally or rotationally by the manual actuator and whichcan be set at three different positions corresponding to the three modesof operation of the hand shower;

fd) an additional change-over device which can be set at two differentpositions by means of the slide via a guide and cam mechanism, wherebythe first position is selected for the "soft jet mode" and the secondposition is selected both for the "hard jet mode" and also the "pulsejet mode", whereby

fe) a spring presses the change-over device which effects thechange-over between "hard jet mode" and "pulse jet mode" into one of itstwo positions and

ff) the slide has a stop which, in one position of the slide, holds thechange-over device effecting the change-over between "hard jet model"and "pulse jet mode" against the force of the spring in one of the twopositions and, in a second position of the slide, allows the spring topush this change-over device into the other of the two positions.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the additional change-overdevice loads a two-way valve cone which acts in combination with twovalve seats formed in the housing. This two-way valve cone is then ableto distribute the water flowing through the handle of the hand shower totwo water channels: the first water channel leads to devices built intothe housing of the shower which enrich the water with air and from thereto relatively large water outlet openings. This produces soft jets ofwater. The other water channel is designed for the two modes ofoperation in which hard jets or pulsed hard jets are produced, and achoice can then be made between these two modes of operation using thesecond change-over device.

From a geometry point of view it is expedient if the two change-overdevices can be moved parallel to each other and perpendicular to thedirection of movement of the slide. It is then easy to move the slideparallel to the wall of the housing of the hand shower. A movement ofthe change-over devices parallel hereto leads into the housing where themoving components are located.

A particularly space-saving configuration is one in which the secondchange-over device is carried coaxially inside the hollow firstchange-over device. It is then a simple matter to use this configurationalso prevent the movement of the second change-over device in the firstposition of the first change-over device by means of appropriate stops.

In the embodiment of a hand shower according to the invention the manualactuator can be a rocker which can be moved clockwise from a centrefirst position into a second position and anticlockwise into a thirdposition. The use of rockers as actuators for sanitary components are,in themselves, well-known and common because they are simple to operateand can be housed on the appropriate sanitary component to make themvisually pleasing. However the commonly known rockers have only twodifferent positions of movement, whilst in the design of hand showeraccording to the invention there is also a centre position of therocker.

The transfer of forces from the rocker to the slide can, for exampletake place, by preforming an actuating finger on to the rocker whichengages in a guide recess in the slide. The rotating motion of theactuating finger on the rocker can in this way be converted simply intoa linear motion of the slide.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the invention is one in which theguide and cam mechanism works symmetrically relative to the centreposition of the slide whereas the stop on the slide operatesasymmetrically relative to the centre position of the slide in the sensethat it prevents any movement of the second change-over device into thesecond position only when the slide is in an out-of-centre position. Inthis embodiment of the invention, the centre position of the slidecorresponds to the first mode of operation in which the firstchange-over device adopts its first position. Irrespective of thedirection in which the slide is now moved from this centre position, thefirst change-over device is always moved into the second position owingto the symmetrically designed guide and cam mechanism. Since, however,the direction of movement of the slide from the centre position into thetwo out-of-centre positions occurs in opposite directions, it is easyfrom a geometrical point of view to ensure that in one of theseout-of-centre positions the stop on the slide engages the secondchange-over device and stops it in its first position, whereas in thesecond out-of-centre position it releases the second change-over deviceand allows it to advance into its preferred position.

A symmetrically operating guide and cam mechanism of this type can mostsimply be achieved by a or several V-shaped guide slit(s) acting incombination with a or several guide pin(s) on the first change-overdevice. In the centre position of the slide, each guide pin is locatedin the apex of the corresponding V. Any lateral movement of the slidethen pushes the guide pin along the corresponding side of the V so thata corresponding movement of the first change-over device in this samedirection occurs, irrespective of the direction in which the slide ismoved from the centre position.

It is advisable for the first change-over device to consist of:

a) a shaft part with a partially spherical head;

b) a guide ring with a partially spherical interior space in which thepartially spherical head of the shaft part is accommodated so that it isform fit but also so that it can be rotated.

This configuration allows the first change-over device to turn so thatin the event of any misalignment or angle errors inside the housingthere is no risk of the first change-over device becoming jammed.

The stop on the slide can, for expediency, be formed by an armprojecting from the slide vertical to the direction of movement of thesecond change-over device. This arm then overlaps the free end of thesecond change-over device in the position in which the latter should bestopped against the force of the spring in the first position.

A cam surface which is set so that it is at an angle to the direction ofmovement of the slide can be fitted to the free end of the arm. If,therefore the slide is moved back from the out-of-centre position whichcorresponds to the second position of the second change-over device intothe centre position, then, with the aid of the inclined cam surface, thesecond change-over device is pushed back into its first position againstthe force of the spring.

One embodiment of the invention is explained in greater detail with theaid of the drawings, as follows:

FIG. 1: shows a section through a hand shower (cut off at the hand set);

FIGS. 2a to 2c: show, in greater scale, different views of sectionsthrough the change-over mechanism in the hand shower shown in FIG. 1 ina first mode of operation;

FIGS. 3a to 3c: show sections similar to those shown in FIGS. 2a to 2cbut in a second mode of operation;

FIGS. 4a to 4c: show sections similar to those illustrated in FIGS. 2ato 2c but in a third mode of operation of the hand shower;

FIG. 5: shows a plan view of the pulse wheel contained in the handshower illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 shows a section through the complete hand shower, with the aid ofwhich the different internal water channels for the various modes ofoperation of the hand shower can first of all be explained. The handshower illustrated basically consists, in the known manner, of a housing1, which is extended in the area 1a to the left of the drawing to form abell-shaped structure and which in the largely incomplete section to theright of FIG. 1 merges into a hand set 1b. The hand set 1b is hollow;its internal chamber 2 is used to supply the water, as is generally thenorm in hand showers.

The extended bell-shaped section 1a of the housing 1 is sealed at thebottom by means of a shower base 3. In the embodiment illustrated, thisis made up of an outer layer 3a made of an elastomer material which actsas an impact protection plate, and an inner rigid layer 3b. The showerbase 3 is provided with two sets of water outlet openings 4, 5 which arearranged in concentric circles around the centre axis of the shower base3. The water outlet openings 4 have a comparatively small cross-section;they are located at the outside end of a tubular jet insert 6 whichextends quite a long way into the inner chamber of the housing. This jetinsert 6 is also made of an elastomer material.

Correspondingly, the water outlet openings 5 which have a comparativelylarge cross-section are located at the outside end of tubular jetinserts 7 which, however, extend only a relatively short distance intothe inner chamber of the housing 1. The tubular jet inserts 7 are alsomade of an elastomer material.

An insert 8 is secured inside the bell-shaped section 1a of thehousing 1. This insert is a relatively complicated preform whichalthough shown in the drawing as a single part is in fact generally madeup of several parts. The insert 8 can roughly be divided into a section8a which runs parallel to the shower base 3 and an essentiallycylindrical insert 8b which extends upwards from the back of this area8a shown in FIG. 1. The cylindrical insert 8b is inserted into acylindrical wall 9 preformed on to the housing 1 and is sealed againstthis wall by means of an O-ring and secured in an axial direction to theshower base 3 in a suitable manner--for example by gluing or by locking(not illustrated).

The shower base 3 is attached to the insert 8 and thus to the housing 1by means of a central fixing screw 11 which is screwed into a centralgraduated hole 12 in the insert 8.

Several circular chambers are moulded into the insert 8:

A first circular chamber 13 is located inside the cylindrical insert 8b.It is linked to a radial opening, pointing towards the hand set 1b,through the circular wall 9 of the housing 1.

The circular chamber 13 is also linked via a number of through holes 15which are provided in its circular base to a second circular chamber 16which opens into a water distribution chamber 17 which essentiallyextends over its entire surface parallel to the shower base 3. The waterdistribution chamber 17 is linked to the inside ends of the tubular jetinserts 7 which are part of the large cross-section water outletopenings 5.

In the area 8a of the insert 8 which extends parallel to the shower basethere is recessed a third circular chamber 18 which is linked to afourth circular chamber 20 via several through holes 19 spaced aroundthe circumference. The fourth circular chamber 20 goes concentricallyaround the third circular chamber and has a greater radius.

There are provided in the base of the fourth circular chamber 20 andcoaxial to each tubular jet insert 6, through holes 21 which have smallcylindrical collars 22 going round their outer end which are preformedon to the underside of the insert 8. The cylindrical collars 22 receivethe inside ends of the tubular jet inserts 6; the elastic properties ofthese tubular jet inserts 6 thus guarantees the leak-proof transfer ofwater from the fourth circular chamber 20 to the water outlet openings 4with the small cross-section.

A pulse wheel 23 is mounted in the fourth circular chamber so that itcan turn. As can be seen from FIG. 5, this wheel is equipped with anumber of curved turbine blades 24 which essentially extend in a radialdirection.

The pulse wheel 23 is controlled by means of a ring-shaped rib 25preformed in one piece, which runs in a groove 26 in the bottom of thefourth circular chamber 20.

The rib of the pulse wheel 23 carries two diametrically oppositecovering ring segments 27 each of which extends parallel to the base ofthe fourth circular chamber over an angle of about 90° and covers thethrough holes 21 in the corresponding peripheral area of the circularchamber 20. There is also preformed on to one of the covering ringsegments 27, between the turbine wheels 24, a stop 28 which overlapsthese axially. This stop is used to stop the pulse wheel 23 in a certainposition of rotation, in a manner yet to be described. Numerous smallthrough holes 29 are also provided in the covering ring segments 27 eachof which, in the aforementioned blocked position of the pulse wheel 23,are aligned with a through hole 21 in the insert 8.

A first valve seat 30 pointing axially downwards is formed in thehousing 1 of the hand shower between the inner chamber 2 of the hand set1b and the through hole 14.

A second valve seat 31 is located coaxially to the first valve seat 30on a cylindrical collar 32 on the insert 8 which is inserted into acomplementary opening 33 in the housing 1 and is sealed against this bymeans of an O-ring 34.

The second valve seat 31 is linked to the third circular chamber 18 viathrough holes 35.

The two valve seats 30 and 31 act in combination with a two-way valvecone 36 with axial movement which consists of a shaft part 37 and theactual seal which acts in concert with the valve seats 30 and 31. Theshaft part 37 of the two-way valve cone 36 is removed from the housing 1via an opening 39 and the water is prevented from escaping from theinner chamber of the housing 1 by means of a shaped seal 40 fittedbetween the surface of the shaft part 37 and a corresponding wall of thehousing. The outside end of the shaft part 37 is connected to achange-over mechanism which, altogether, is identified with thereference number 41 and is sometimes housed in a recess 42 in the top ofthe housing 1. It is described in greater detail later on.

The two-way valve cone 36 is loaded by means of a compression spring 43which is tensioned between one graduation of the shaft part 37 and ashim 44 supported on the housing 1 in such a way that the seal 38 on thetwo-way valve cone is normally in the position shown in FIG. 1 andtherefore seals the second valve seat 31.

The entire two-way valve cone 36 has a stop rod 45 going coaxiallythrough it. The bottom end of this rod passes through a hole 46 whichleads into the fourth circular chamber 20. A shaped seal 47 insertedbetween the surface of the stop rod 45 and a cavity inside the two-wayvalve cone 36 prevents the leakage of water from the fourth circularchamber.

The stop rod 45 can move axially inside the two-way valve cone 36. Itcan adopt two positions: in the first position which is shown in FIG. 1,the bottom end of the stop rod 45 extends so far into the fourthcircular chamber 20 that it is in the path of movement of the stop 28 onthe pulse wheel 23. When the stop 28 reaches the bottom end of the stoprod 45, the through holes 29 provided in the covering ring segment 27are in line with the through holes 21 in the insert 8.

In the second axial position, the stop rod 45 is moved so far upwardsthat its bottom end is no longer located in the path of movement of thestop 28 on the pulse wheel 23, with the result that the pulse wheel 23is then able to rotate completely freely.

A compression spring 49 tensioned between a beading 48 surrounding thestop rod 45 and the top of the shaped seal 47 pushes the stop rod 45upwards inside the two-way valve cone 36.

Before giving any further details about the change-over mechanism 41with which the positions of both the two-way valve cone 36 and also thestop rod 45 can be controlled, it would seem advisable to describe thethree modes of operation in which the illustrated hand shower is capableof working. An understanding of these modes of operation will then makeit easier to understand the role of the change-over mechanism 41.

The first mode of operation of the hand shower is shown in FIG. 1 andalso in FIGS. 2a to 2c. In this mode, the second valve seat 31 is closedby means of the two-way valve cone 36. The water flowing through theinner chamber 2 of the hand set 1b flows past the first valve seatthrough the through hole 14 in the wall 9 of the housing 1 into thefirst circular chamber 13 of the insert 8b. From there, the watercontinues to flow through the openings 15 into the second circularchamber 16, then into the water distribution chamber 17 and then out viaa circular screen 50 which overlaps the inside ends of the tubular jetinserts 7,

As it enters the second circular chamber 16, the water which flowsthrough the openings 15 in the form of numerous single jets is enrichedwith air which is drawn in via the radial holes 51 linking the circularchamber 16 with the middle graduated hole 12, the graduated hole 12itself and also through the holes 52 in the shower base 3. The waterwhich flows out of the water outlet openings 5 is therefore enrichedwith minute air bubbles. Owing to the relatively large cross-section ofthe water outlet openings 5, the shower jets produced in this instanceare relatively slow. They are therefore perceived as being soft. Theexperts therefore refer to this mode as "soft jet mode".

The second mode of operation of the shower is obtained when the two-wayvalve cone 36 is moved upwards, thereby closing the first valve seat 30and freeing the second valve seat 31. The stop rod 45 however is onceagain in the position in which its bottom end prevents the pulse wheel23 from rotating freely. This situation is illustrated in FIG. 3a to 3c.

In this mode of operation, the water flowing through the inner chamber 2of the hand set 1b flows through the openings 35 in the insert 8 intothe third circular chamber 18 and from there via the radial openings 19into the fourth circular chamber 20. If the stop 28 on the pulse wheel23 is not yet at the bottom end of the stop rod 45, the turbine blades24 turn the pulse wheel slightly until the stop 28 comes up against thestop rod 45. It is then no longer possible to turn the pulse wheel 23any further. The fourth circular chamber 20 now acts as a simple waterdistribution chamber, from which the water flows through the openings 21in the base of the fourth circular chamber 20 and the tubular jetinserts 6 to the water outlet openings 4. The shower jets emerging inthis instance are comparatively fast due to the geometry of the wateroutlet holes 4 and because they are not enriched with air are thereforeperceived as being hard. This is therefore referred to as the "hard jetmode" of the hand shower.

In the third mode of operation of the hand shower, the two-way valvecone 36 is in the same position as it is in the second mode ofoperation: this means that it obstructs the first valve seat 30 andfrees the second valve seat 31. The stop rod 45 on the other hand is nowwithdrawn axially upwards so that its bottom end no longer obstructs therotation of the pulse wheel 23. The path taken by the water is the sameas in the second mode of operation: the water flows through the innerchamber 2 in the hand set 1b, past the second valve seat 31, through theopenings 35 into the third circular chamber 18 and from there it flowsvia the radial holes 19 into the fourth circular chamber 20 and out ofthis through the through openings 21 and the tubular jet inserts 6 tothose water outlet openings 4 with the small cross-section. However,since the bottom end of the stop rod 45 is now no longer in the path ofmovement of the stop 28 on the pulse wheel 23, this is brought intorotation by the water flowing against the turbine blades 24. Thecovering ring segments 27 which form part of the pulse wheel now rotateover the through holes 21, alternately freeing them and then coveringthem again. The result of this is that the hard jets emerging from thewater outlet openings 4 are also periodically interrupted and therefore"pulse". This is therefore referred to as "pulse jet mode" or "massagejet mode".

The change-over mechanism 41 and its interaction with the two-way valvecone 36 and the stop rod 45 will now be described in greater detailbelow--that is to say the mode and manner in which the two-way valvecone 36 and the stop rod 45 are moved to bring about the three modes ofoperation. For this, reference is made first of all to FIGS. 2a to 2c.

As shown in these figures, the part of the change-over mechanism 41which is housed in the recess 42 in the housing consists of arocker-type manual actuator 53, hereinafter abbreviated to "rocker". Therocker 53 seals the recess 42 in the housing 1 at the top and protrudesonly far enough for it to be easily operated. An actuating finger 54which projects into the recess 42 is preformed on to the rocker 53. Theupper area of this finger has a swivel pin 55 going through it which isheld in the side walls of the housing 1. In this way, the rocker 53 canbe pivoted about a horizontal axis defined by the swivel pin 55.

The bottom end of the actuating finger 54 engages in a guide recess 57in a slide 56. The slide is carried inside the recess 42 so that, by asuitable configuration of its side wall and the adjacent wall of thehousing, it can move in the direction of the double arrow 58. Bypressing the rocker 53, the arrangement obviously allows the slide 56 tobe moved linearly inside the recess 42, and in fact between threepositions which correspond to the three modes of operation of the handshower described above. FIGS. 2a to 2c show the centre position of boththe rocker 53 and also the slide 56 which correspond to the first modeof operation of the hand shower, that is to say "soft jet mode".

There is preformed on to the top of the slide 56 an arm 59 which runsapproximately parallel to the direction of the arrow 58, at the end ofwhich there is an inclined cam surface 60.

A guide plate 61 with a V-shaped guide slot 62 is preformed on to eachof the two sides of the arm 59 on the slide 56. Only part of the guideplate 61 located behind the drawing plane can be identified in FIGS. 2aand 2b. The front guide plate 61 has been omitted in line with thesection. The interface is marked by the hatched rectangle 68. FIG. 2c onthe other hand illustrates another area at the top end of the two-wayvalve cone 36, with the result that the guide plate 61 which is actuallylocated in front of the sectional plane and the way in which it isconnected to the arm 59 on the slide 56 can clearly be identified.

The top end of the shaft part 37 is spherical in form, as can be seenparticularly in FIG. 2a. It is carried by a complementary inner surfaceof a two-part guide ring 63 which is partially spherical in form. Theguide ring 63 is carried in a cylindrical collar 64 preformed on to thebase of the recess 42 in the housing 1 and can be moved in an axialdirection. Two diametrically opposed guide pins 65 project from thesurface of the guide ring 63 vertical to the drawing plane, as can beseen from FIGS. 2b and 2c. The guide pins 65 are carried by the guideslots 62 in the respective adjacent guide plates 61. This can be seenparticularly in FIG. 2c.

In the first mode of operation, that is to say in the "soft jet mode",the relative position of the slide 56 and in particular the V-shapedguide slots 62 provided in the guide plates 61 in respect of the top endof the two-way valve cone 36 is such that the guide pins 65 are locatedin the bottom apex of the V-shaped guide slot 62. This is illustrated inFIG. 2c. The position in which the two-way valve cone 36 is able toadopt the bottom-most position in which its seal 38 closes the secondvalve seat can clearly be seen. By virtue of the inner positive closurebetween the shaft part 37 of the two-way valve cone and the stop rod 45the latter is also in its bottom-most position in which its bottom endtherefore extends into the fourth circular chamber 20. The top end ofthe stop rod 45 is a short distance away, opposite the cam surface 60 onthe arm 59 of the slide 56.

Now let us assume that the hand shower is required to be changed overfrom the first mode of operation shown in FIGS. 2a and 2c into thesecond mode of operation in which hard jets emerge from the water outletopenings 4 in the shower base which are not pulsed and therefore notinterrupted. To achieve this, the rocker 53 is pressed in the area tothe right of the swivel pin 55 as shown in FIGS. 2a to 2c such that theactuating finger 54 is rotated in a clockwise direction. Starting fromthe relative positions shown in FIGS. 2a to 2c, the relative positionsare now reached which are illustrated in FIGS. 3a to 3c.

It can first of all be seen from FIG. 3a that the underside of the arm59 on the slide 56 has been pushed over the top end of the stop rod 45.The stop rod 45 is therefore once again prevented from moving from theaxial position in which its bottom end obstructs the pulse wheel.

It is, however, a different matter with the two-way valve cone 36: ascan be seen from FIG. 3c in particular, the guide pins 65 on the guidering 63 are pushed into the right-hand side of the V-shaped guide slot62 as shown in the drawing by moving the slide 56 linearly to the left.Owing to the inclined position of this side, the guide pins 65 are drawnupwards in a kind of cam action; owing to the positive closure betweenthe guide ring 63 and the shaft part 37 of the two-way valve 36, thelatter follows, moving axially upwards until it seals the first valveseat 30 as shown in FIGS. 3a and 3c. Since, as already mentioned, withthis axial movement of the two-way valve cone 36 the stop rod 45 stopsaxially, the compression spring 49 mounted between the two-way valvecone 36 and the stop rod 45 is consequently compressed. Thecircumstances are now obviously as required for the second mode ofoperation: the water is able to flow past the second valve seat 31,through the third circular chamber 18 into the fourth circular chamber20 and from there to the water outlet openings 4, but the stop rod 45still obstructs the rotation of the pulse wheel 23.

The third mode of operation is obtained from the "centre position" ofthe rocker 53 and the slide 56 shown in FIGS. 2a to 2c. This third modeis one in which pulsed hard jets emerge from the water outlet openings 4by the user pushing the rocker 53 to the side to the left of the swivelpin 55 as shown in the drawing. The actuating finger 54 of the rocker 53now rotates anticlockwise and moves the slide 56 to the right, from theposition shown in FIGS. 2a to 2c. The relative positions of the variousparts are shown in FIGS. 4a to 4c.

With regard to the axial position of the two-way valve cone 36, thecircumstances are obviously completely identical to those in the secondmode of operation as shown in FIGS. 3a to 3c. The only difference isthat the guide pins 65 on the guide ring 63 are now pushed into theleft-hand side of the guide slot 62 as shown in the drawing. The liftingmovement of the guide ring 63 and thus the entire two-way valve cone 36,however, occurs by virtue of the cam action in completely the same wayas in the second mode of operation. In this respect, the conditions forany movement to the right and left from the "centre position" shown inFIGS. 2a to 2c are, as can be seen, symmetrical.

This is not the case, however, with the stop rod 45:

By moving the slide 56 to the right vis-a-vis FIGS. 2a to 2c, the topend of the stop rod 45 moves outside the range of the arm 59 on theslide 56, as can be seen particularly in FIGS. 4a and 4b. By the actionof the compression spring 49, following the movement of the two-wayvalve cone, the stop rod 45 is now pushed upwards with the result thatthe bottom end of the stop rod 45 moves upwards out of the fourthcircular chamber 20 and frees the movement of the pulse wheel 23. Thecircumstances are now as they are required for the third mode ofoperation: the water flows past the second valve seat 31 and through thethird circular chamber 18 into the fourth circular chamber 20, where thepulse wheel is able to turn freely. The desired pulse hard jets (pulseor massage jets) now emerge from the water outlet openings 4 in theshower base 3.

As soon as the water supply is shut off, the compression spring 43returns the two-way valve cone 36 into the position shown in FIGS. 2a to2c, which is consequently the preferred position. The first mode ofoperation is therefore automatically set, so that the mode of operationwhen the water supply is renewed will be "soft jet mode".

Obviously it is possible to introduce appropriate design measures toconvert the positions which correspond to FIGS. 3 or 4 into "preferredpositions" which are set automatically when the shower is first turnedon or--as described above--when the water supply is shut off.

I claim:
 1. A multifunction hand shower in which at least two modes ofoperation can be selected in which the shower jets emerge at arelatively high speed and with a relatively small cross-section, namelyin a first mode of operation in which the shower jets emerge in aconstant stream and a second mode of operation in which the shower jetsare periodically interrupted, which comprises:(a) a housing; (b) ashower base which seals the housing and which has a number of wateroutlet holes; (c) a pulse wheel which is mounted in a circular chamberin the housing through which water flows so that it is capable ofrotation and which, as it turns, periodically interrupts and then freesthe through-flow of water to the appropriate water outlet openings inthe shower base; (d) a change-over mechanism to select the mode ofoperation which comprises: i) a manual actuator; ii) at least one firstchange-over device controlled by the manual actuator, which can be movedinto at least two different positions and in this way determines themode of operation of the shower, in which the first change-over deviceacts on a stop which, in the first position of the first change-overdevice, is located outside the path of movement of a stop mounted on thepulse wheel and which, in the second position of the first changeoverdevice, is located in the path of movement of the stop on the pulsewheel such that the pulse wheel stops in a specific position ofrotation, the change-over mechanism being designed to set a third modeof operation in which air shower jets emerge from the shower base atrelatively glow speed and have a relatively large cross-section.
 2. Handshower according to claim 1, characterizedin that the first change-overdevice is moved out of the housing in the radial direction relative tothe shower base.
 3. Hand shower according to claim 1, characterisedinthat the first change-over device is moved out of the housing in theaxial direction relative to the shower base.
 4. Hand shower according toclaim 1,characterized in that the second change-over device (37, 63)consists of: a) a shaft part (37) with a partially spherically shapedhead; b) a guide ring (63) with a partially spherical internal chamberin which the partially spherical head of the shaft part (37) isaccommodated in such a way that it is form fit but can be rotated. 5.Hand shower according to claim 1, characterizedin that the change-overmechanism comprises: iii) a slide (56) which is contained in the housing(1) and which can be rotated either translationally or rotationally bythe manual actuator (53) and which can adopt three different positionscorresponding to the three modes of operation of the hand shower; iv) asecond change-over device (37, 63) which can be moved by the slide (56)into two different positions via a guide and cam mechanism (62, 65), inwhich the first position adopted is the "soft jet mode", and the secondposition is both the "hard jet mode" and also the "pulse jet mode", inwhich v) the first change-over device (45) which produces the secondchange-over between "hard jet mode" and "pulse jet mode" is pushed intoone of its two positions by means of a spring (49) and vi) the slide(56) has a stop (59, 60) which, in one position of the slide (56) holdsthe first change-over device (45) which produces the change-over between"hard jet mode" and "pulse jet mode" against the force of the spring(49) in one of the two positions and, in a second position of the slide(56) allows the spring (49) to push this first change-over device (45)into the other of the two positions.
 6. Hand shower according to claim1, characterized in that the second change-over device (37, 63) whichproduces the change-over between "soft jet mode" on the one hand and"hard jet mode" and "pulse jet mode" on the other acts on a double valvecone (36) which acts in concert with two valve seats (30, 31) formed inthe housing (1).
 7. Hand shower according to claim 1,characterized inthat both the first and second change-over devices (37, 45) can be movedparallel to one another and perpendicular to the direction of movementof the slide (56).
 8. Hand shower according to claim 7, characterizedinthat the first change-over device (45) is carried coaxially inside thehollow second change-over device (37).
 9. Hand shower according to claim1,characterized in that the manual actuator (53) is a rocker which canbe pivoted from a centre first position into a second position and intoa third position.
 10. Hand shower according to claim 9, characterizedinthat there is preformed on to the rocker (53) an actuating finger whichengages in a guide recess (57) in the slide (56).
 11. Hand showeraccording to claim 1, characterized in that the guide and cam mechanism(61, 62, 65) operate symmetrically relative to the centre position ofthe slide (56), whereas the stop (59, 60) on the slide (56) worksasymmetrically relative to the centre position of the slide (56) in thesense that it obstructs the movement of the first change-over device(45) into the second position in only one out-of-centre position of theslide (56).
 12. Hand shower according to claim 1,characterized in thatthe guide and cam mechanism (61, 62, 65) consists of: a) at least oneguide slot (62) on the slide (56); b) at least one guide pin (65) whichis connected to the second change-over device (37) and which engages inthe guide slot (72).
 13. Hand shower according to claim 12,characterizedin that the guide and cam mechanism (61, 62, 65) consistsof: a) two guide slots (62) arranged on the slide (61) parallel to eachother; b) two guide pins (65) which project from the second change-overdevice (37, 63) on diametrically opposite sides and each of whichengages in one of the two guide slots (62).
 14. Hand shower according toclaim 12,characterized in that each guide slot (62) is V-shaped. 15.Hand shower according to claim 1,characterized in that the stop on theslide (56) is formed by an arm (59) which extends from the slide (56)perpendicular to the direction of movement of the first change-overdevice (45).
 16. Hand shower according to claim 15, characterizedin thata cam surface (60) is mounted on the free end of the arm (59) which isset at an angle to the direction of movement of the slide (56).